That rather frightening tattooed head to the left? That belongs to Andy Serkis of Gollum and Kong fame getting out from under the layers of digital effects for gritty UK drug drama Sugarhouse Lane, based on the play Collision by Dominic Leyton. The film is the story of a middle class drug addict who gets drawn into London's underworld. Check out the three still shots below and then read on for the full synopsis.
SUGARHOUSE LANE.
Crackhead, Killer, Accountant.
Disillusioned middle class city boy Tom is looking for something in the back streets of London; he thinks D - a young desperate drug addict can give him what he needs. But what D's offering comes with more than just a price tag. Holed up in a derelict warehouse, with the impending threat of local crimelord Hoodwink at their backs, both men play an intense game of cat and mouse; scrambling to cut a deal and make sense of the very lives they may be about to lose.
The accident of birth is highlighted by Producers Oliver Milburn and Ben Dixon as being a main theme of SUGARHOUSE LANE. The harsh truth being that the incredibly rich can live within metres of people who, like D, have nothing. "It is vary rare for these people to meet, let alone talk, but when they do, as in SUGARHOUSE LANE, they can have a surprising amount in common."
Writer Dominic Leyton is to the point: "Some people are sorted from day one, and some people are fucked: but even if you are sorted, you're only ever a few wrong moves from being fucked too."
This movie sounds great. I wish all director's in the UK would focus on drugish gangster movies. Uk thug movies are great, keep'em coming!!!
i smoke bare fucking crack innit.
Oh look, all of Michael's flames have disappeared. Keep it civil or go elsewhere.
Oh yeah one last point - Francis Ford Coppola also produced APOCALYPSE NOW.
So, you get my drift....?
Lunatics. Asylums. Take overs. And ting.
Dom, great to hear from the writer's fingertips. Not sure i'd be quite as harsh about Apocalypse Now but in the perpetual art vs. business debate you rarely get to hear the writer's take on things.
As a genre the british gangster movies have given us some amazing films... get carter... the long good friday... even lock stock. They're all uniquely different, great stories with great urban locations. I think what the other commentators have been saying about kidulthood and life n' lyrics are that it feels like the brits are mining the 'urban' thing a lot recentley. Sugarhouse Lane doesn't look too familar to those movies. That shot of andy serkis looks distinctly different in fact.
Booth - Okay maybe I'm being a little harsh on Apocalypse Now - after all, who am I to take pops at Francis Ford Coppola?! He's an amzing film maker! :) No doubt.
However the point I was trying to get across about Apocalypse Now is that I feel the film suffers in the last 40 or so minutes, due largely to Marlon Brando's endless mumbling in the dark. I believe if Francis F. had had a little less control over the finished product the movie would have benefited.
Another director who I believe could have done with a little less control over the finished product is none other than Mr. Stanley Kubrick! Eyes Wide Shut epitomises a director vanishing into his own sense of genius. It's a turgid film that is about an hour too long. In a nutshell: it is so boring!
Hey while I'm taking pops at amazing filmmakers I would include 'The Deer Hunter' in this overblown debate. The wedding scene at the beginning goes on...and on...and on...and on...and on. In this case I feel we do just about get away with it because when we cut to the action we are straight in on one of the great scenes in cinema (the russian roulette scene). The abrupt change of pace really jolts you into the moment.
Anyway I'm rambling now. Where was I?
Oh yeah little 'Sugarhouse Lane'! I know when I sat down and wrote the thing it was not my intent to write some gangster caper. I agree with Bench, there was a dirth of UK gangster capers in the 90s which came across as remarkably smug and over exited. Apart from Lock Stock (which does have its merits) these films were mostlty preposterous comic book nonsense.
[As an aside Stephen Macintosh - who played the posh drug dealer in Lock Stock - plays one of the three lead roles in Sugarhouse Lane. He's a great actor and really nails the role.]
It is certainly true that when writing Sugarhouse Lane it was not my intent to write a 'gangster caper'. However it was also not my intent to write some super gritty, super real drama in the vein of 'Nil By Mouth' or 'Scum'.
Hopefully Sugarhouse Lane will sit somewhere in between.
There is certainly a comic element to the story and people should have a few laughs along the way but the film should be suprisingly moving. 'Sugarhouse Lane' does deal in 'real life' and is about 'real things' like the class system, opportunity and rejection.
Anyway, thanks for the interest in it and I will happily answer any further questions about it. This is the website:
http://www.sugarhouselane.com/
Nice one.
:)
That said, you are f'in wrong about 'The Deerhunter' :)
Hey Bench - no worries. Once you see the film if you think it is crap then no worries mate! Everyone is entitled to their opinion! I guess it slightly annoyed me to see someone assuming the film was something it isn't. Also - I should have learnt this a long time ago - never post on the internet after having a few beers! It losens the typing fingers a little.
I know - hah hah The Deerhunter - it's awesome! But I do struggle with the very long wedding scene...
Nice one mate.
:)
A pissed writer? Hell will freeze over...